Walking in Grace, Stepping Out in Faith

Week 2 Day 4

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“And the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.” John 12:45

Choose how you will dine with your Lord today:

Read Philippians Chapter 2 (Fast Food)

Read Philippians Chapter 2 (Home Cooking)

Read Philippians Chapters 1-4 (Fine Dining)

As you read, again make note of any keywords or reflections as the Lord speaks to your heart.

Character Reflection-Philippians Chapter 2:19-24

What two reasons does Paul give for wanting to send Timothy to his friends in Philippi? (2:19-20)

1) Paul will be encouraged when he hears how well they are doing

2) Timothy is the only one who has the same frame of mind as Paul who will genuinely care about the Philippians interests.

Why does Paul want to send Timothy? (2:19)

What would other people care about? (2:21)

How does this apply to us? In order to have the mind of Christ, we need to care about the interests of other’s. Christ cares about the welfare and growth of all His children and we should do the same.

How does this work in a marriage, with our children, at our workplace? If we truly have the mind of Christ, then their interests will be placed above our own. (Philippians 2:3-11)

What kind of character does Timothy have? (2:22)

Read Matthew 7:15-20. What kind of character or fruit do you bear? Has your character been tested and have you been proven?

How does Paul know about Timothy’s character? (2:22b)

When does Paul want to send Timothy? (2:23)

What does Paul think will happen to him? (2:24)

Personal Reflections

Paul describes his relationship with Timothy as a father/son relationship. Take some time to consider the qualities of a father/son or even a mother/daughter relationship. A healthy relationship reflects time that is well spent with one another to the point people will speak, “He is just like his father or she is just like her mother.” The question then becomes does my relationship with my Heavenly Father reflect His character? Do I look like my Heavenly Father? Jesus gave us the perfect example of how to look like our Father. Read John 5:19-23 and John 14:7. How can God show us unless we spend time with him? A son has to communicate with his father in order to find out what it is he is supposed to do. Over and over in the gospels we see Jesus taking the time to stop and pray with His Father. We too must take time out regularly in our day to spend time with our Father to find out what it is he wants to shows us and what He asks us to do. An illustration I heard many years ago from Susan O’Donnell from the Houston Christian radio station KSBJ still rings in my ears often. Susan said she remembers the multitudes of times her grandmother would smother her in her hugs and kisses each time Susan saw her. After she would leave her grandmother she would smell like her grandmother because of the closeness they experienced. May we smell like Jesus today.